Arts + Technology

A student reads his graphic novel while relaxing on his urban life inspired mosaic water feature designed by him and his classmates with artist Cara Resnick at Rose Ave PS ~ PHOTO Katherine Fleitas

Simply put, TECHNOLOGY is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. This can include the design and building of homes, cars, boats, planes, computers (and software), bridges, clothing, artistic sculpture and installations…and the discovery and application of science, math, engineering and medicine to keep us healthy and well. Technology is connected to all industry and all industry functions with technical expertise.

Begin with an inspired idea and using the storyboard technique of scriptwriting, create your figure drawing and background perspectives. With computer-based visual imaging create a stop animation digital short video. Celebrate with a festival of ten-second animation films in your school complete with movie posters and popcorn! Three days per class including editing ~ Anthony Harrison, Moojan Nazmi+ Paul Walty ~

There are thousands of species of bees. They are truly one of the most beautiful and collaborative types of insects on our planet but there is foreboding danger of the potential loss of the global honeybee population. The consequence of a dying bee population impacts humanity at the highest levels on our food chain. Since no other single animal species plays a more significant role in producing the fruits and vegetables that humans eat daily. Honeybees pollinate over 30% of our natural food. Students learn about bees and the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder brought on by increased use of pesticides, the Varroa destructor parasite, shrinking habitats, multiple viruses, poor nutrition and genetics, and even cell phone towers. Students build their own colony using creative materials including bamboo and wire. Adaptable to all grades with Charmaine Lurch ~

Students learn about the canoe, the kayak and their critical role in Canada’s history while working on 3-D works of art incorporating painting, sculpting and printmaking. Create beautiful sailboats of simple construction with bamboo, paper and foam with authentic paddles and oars. Watch these elegant watercraft float across your classroom. Adaptable to all grades ~ Sandra Iskandar, Charmaine Lurch + Paul Walty ~

Did you know that the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could set off a tornado in Texas by creating tiny changes in the atmosphere that could accelerate, or even prevent, the tornado? How could we express that through the arts? Try this interdisciplinary STEAM idea using mixed media, story and dance to introduce a new science theory for human resilience. Adaptable to all grades ~ Pria Muzumdar + Moojan Nazmi~

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things! Our body is comprised of trillions of cells that provide our physical being, take in nutrients from food, convert those nutrients into energy, and carry out special functions. Cells also contain the body’s hereditary material and can make copies of themselves. This is called our DNA and it is unique to every individual and their ancestry. DNA + ME is STEAM opportunity to examine ourselves and the science of cells while creating small and large scale DNA inspired portraits, 3D paper, wire sculpture or a narrative mural. Ideal for grades 7+8 ~ Pria Muzumdar ~

Biodiversity is the variety of different types of life found on earth. An organism is a contiguous (things that are in contact or readily associated) living system. There are a variety of organisms present in different ecosystems. These ecosystems are a community of living and non-living components controlled by internal and external forces. Sustainability is the mindful management of the forces in our ecosystems to ensure ongoing production of goods and services to humanity. Students explore one or more ecosystems of the world, inter-relationships and how humankind can work to ensure sustainability through conscious living and create a mixed media art piece of an ecosystem that incorporates ideas for sustainability, individually or collaboratively. Adaptable to all grades ~Elizabeth Greisman, Karen Harkins, Moojan Nazmi, Marsha Stonehouse + Allycia Uccello ~

FLOW

Here we examine the universal presence of flow seen in successful natural and social organizations and chat about how these tree-like structures have core strength, are rooted with organic branches or split patterns that can adapt to environmental conditions. We can compare tree branching to our circulatory system, rivers, etc., and then to other social organization schematics such as families, schools, networks, communities and neighbourhoods. We can create a collaborative social system inspired by how nature ebbs and flows. Art work is mixed media with colourful illustrations and paint. Conceived and led by visual artist and designer Pria Muzumdarand can include dance with Mariposa In The Schools choreographers Sarina Condello and Bailey Davis ~ Adaptable to all grades ~

The true story of Henrietta Lacks who surprised doctors at John Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1950 when it was discovered her immortal (durable and prolific) cells could heal millions of sick and dying and also contribute to successful cloning, polio and other preventative vaccines and gene mapping. Henrietta died of cancer in 1951 and since then 11,000 patients have been involved in research with HeLa cells. Yet Henrietta never knew of her remarkable cells. She never gave her consent for their use and she and her poverty stricken family were never compensated. Here is a remarkable true story inspired program of a remarkable woman and her immortal cells expressed in a tiny petri dish. Ideal for grades 7 + 8 with Charmaine Lurch ~

I say sculpture! You say bronze, marble, oak. I say wire! You say stereo extension cord? This workshop sings the beauty of this ubiquitous material. Twist it. Bend it. Crimp it. Split it. Hang it. Weave it. We can design with wire. Tap into creating everyday objects with a twist! We can draw with it—head to toes. Carving space with a line, a curve that leave so much to the imagination. We can plumb the work of famous artists or wire up our own personal journeys. Don’t forget the side order of cotton gloves and wire snips. Grade 4+ available in French ~ Charmaine Lurch + Paul Walty ~

Juggling Balance (En/Fr)

Create an environment of additive wood sculpture from 2D to 3D, juggling balance, weight, shape,negative and positive space. Students build and develop their own imaginary sculpture inspired by artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Constantin Brâncuși and Louise Nevelson. Or, inspired by Mexican popular and folk art, create brightly coloured sculptures of fantastical creatures. Ideal for grades 4 to 8 ~ Sandra Iskandar ~

Mapping My Carbon Footprint

A Global Climate Accord involving the entire planet was finalized in Paris in 2015 laying out a road map to speedily reduce carbon emissions. The accord comprises a longer-term plan for reaching a peak in greenhouse emissions and achieving a balance between output of man-made greenhouse gases and absorption – by forests or the oceans – by the second half of this century. This means bringing down greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero within a few decades. Let’s create our own personal map on how that can happen locally and globally. Examine our natural resources, manufacturing, and how we consume, discard and conserve. Where does it all end up and how do we, and can we, reduce our own consumption. Students build an inventory of their own carbon footprint (and yes, measure it!) and map, through new or mixed media works, our own journey to beat carbon emissions. Adaptable to all grades ~ Charmaine Lurch , Samina Mansuri + Pria Muzumdar ~

Medieval Characters + Villages (En/Fr)

Welcome to this popular social studies unit on medieval times integrating geometry, spatial sense, science, and visual art. This program allows students to build a village of medieval instruments, tools, castles with levers and pulleys and 3-d characters from wire, paper and papier-mâché. Junior grades ~ available in French ~ Ken Kettlewell,+ Paul Walty ~

Mosaics in World Architecture

LEAP and ESL classes share and learn from each other all about mosaic and tile patterns from world architecture. Students craft their own ceramic sculpture or self portrait from mosaic tile integrating tesserae accents found in our gardens and around oceans and lakes. Or…as seen in the photo opposite (artist Cara Resnick), an entire school participates in the design of a beautiful indoor or outdoor ceramic art sculpture. Juniors + intermediates ~ Sandra Iskandar +Moojan Nazmi ~

My Clothes My World (En/Fr)

Consumerism is one of the greatest contributors to climate change, and yet the average person finds it difficult to create the incremental change required to help combat this global threat. Here’s an opportunity to learn about the life cycle of a piece of cloth, from the original root to the fashionable stores where we shop. In partnership with Fashion Takes Action, Canada’s premier non-profit organization that focuses on sustainability in the fashion industry, we offer this lesson in biodiversity, social responsibility, fashion and art that helps students gain insight in how we consume and how we can affect change, locally and globally. The take away for students is a personal, hand designed, up-cycle book bag and new awareness of where it originated and ideas on where it could go in the future. Ideal for grades 4 to 8 ~

The ancient Persian architecture, Ziggurats (meaning to build on a raised area), were massive structures built in the Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau. Chogha Zanbil (translated basket mound) is one of the most famous, built around 1250 BC by the Persian king, Untash-Napirisha. Students let their imaginations fly and create their own 3D papier-mâché Ziggurat with relief clay or printmaking. They may also build their own silver and golden plates and coins while learning stories of ancient carvings and how to replicate them. Finally, the program introduces the many characters of Persian mythology that can be built through 3D papier-mâché and paint. Juniors + intermediates ~ Mashid Fadaei, Sandra Iskandar + Moojan Nazmi ~

SWARM (En/Fr)

Swarm is a scientific term that describes a number of similar geologic phenomena or features occurring closely within a given period or place. Swarm can describe a group of bees, ants or aggregation of persons or animals in turmoil or moving in mass. To create a swarm of insects we need to begin with a single bug. Build a body in three parts—head, thorax and abdomen, six legs, two eyes, mandibles and antennae. Then cut, fold, bend, twist, stretch, push, pull and glue our drawings or wire sculpture into a three-dimensional wonder ready to hop, scamper, leap or fly—one to take home and one to build a remarkable and colourful SWARM in our school. Artists bring their expertise on bird and insect habitat, indigenous species, flight, migration, swarm intelligence and bio-diversity to the artistic process. Adaptable to all grades ~Charmaine Lurch, Pria Muzumdar + Paul Walty ~

Learn about the mathematician Benjamin Banneker and his study of astronomy. Students design and construct whimsical 3D whirligigs from wire and sculpted paper while exploring structure and mechanisms. Create colourful pictorial renditions of earth and space systems from natural and manufactured materials. Adaptable to all grades ~ Charmaine Lurch ~

Whirligigs + Wind

With found objects wooden pieces, cardboard, wire and glue, join artists in a world of sculptures, machines and folk toys that move with the wind. Ideal for grades 4+ ~Ken Kettlewell, + Pria Muzumdar ~

World Builder

Want to create your own land of faerie or a castle keep with drawbridge and dragon? How about an out port on a distant planet complete with spaceships ready for liftoff? With pencils, markers, a dab of colour or two students explore the high roads and byways of those imaginary places and transform our drawings into a marvellous 3D paper world of dreams and adventure. World Builder encourages individual and collaborative creation of urban and rural environments referencing Toronto and its hinterland. Each student models their efforts on the needs of an individual animal or human according to architectural, biological, geographical and sociological references. iPads may be used to research topics in curricular preparations prior to the artists arrival and then elaborated upon in daily discussions during the project. All grades ~ available in French ~ Paul Walty ~